Comment: A big stupid Trump deal may be just what the world needs
Just three days after President Donald Trump reported "substantial progress" in talks with China, the man doing most of the talking was out pouring cold water. "Much still needs to be done," US Trade Negotiator Robert Lighthizer told Congress, and it's still in doubt whether the two sides can come to terms.Lighthizer's refusal to bend in pursuit of a deal is admirable in its way.
Removal of forced technology transfers in manufacturing is a possibility that Premier Li Keqiang has raised and intellectual-property reform is a pet project of President Xi Jinping, so movement on those areas ought to be quite achievable with the right combination of carrots and sticks. Even agriculture has potential, given China's need to feed its growing population as cheaply as possible.
Beyond that, though, it's all but impossible to imagine the current Chinese government loosening foreign investment rules in closed sectors such as government services, healthcare and education – not to mention the media, information and technology industries where Beijing sees control as an existential issue.
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